Xarelto Blood Thinner Blamed for Bleeding and Deaths

Over 18,000 lawsuits nationwide blame anticoagulant Xarelto (rivaroxaban) manufacturers for internal bleeding, strokes and at least 370 deaths of patients that used the blood thinning medicine.

Blood thinners are among the drugs that require monitoring, along with diabetes, seizure and heart medicines. These types of drugs have been linked to adverse events in older adults, some requiring hospitalization, according to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC).

Xarelto Marketed As More Effective

Xarelto is Bayer’s top-selling product in Europe and Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen unit third-largest seller in the United States. It was approved in the U.S. in 2011 to prevent blood clots in patients undergoing knee and hip surgeries and soon was used also for irregular heartbeats and in cases of high risk of stroke.

Claims against J&J and Bayer alleged that the makers falsely marketed Xarelto as a more effective and easier to use drug for preventing strokes than older and commonly used Coumadin. Its benefit for patients is that they don’t need frequent lab tests to monitor blood-plasma levels as the other medicine does.

Greg Jones Law has sued many major drug manufacturers for failing to warn of the dangers of their drugs. To find out if you have a case against the makers of Benicar (Olmesartan), contact us today for a free case evaluation.

Xarelto Has No Antidote

Xarelto belongs to a new class of drugs aimed to replace Coumadin (warfarin), which has been in use since the 1960s. But unlike Coumadin, in case of bleeding from an injury, doctors can administer vitamin K to stop the bleeding, yet Xarelto has no antidote to stop the hemorrhage.

In other words, Coumadin’s blood-thinning effects can be reversed if it is medically needed.

Warfarin was a widely used and inexpensive generic medicine (sold under the brand name Coumadin by Bristol-Myers Squibb, which along with Pfizer also sell the Xarelto’s rival Eliquis).

Xarelto was designed to replace warfarin to avoid the problems associated with needing a special diet and regular monitoring to make sure dosing remains within a limited therapeutic range. It can’t neither be too low, which increases risk of stroke, nor too high, which greatly raises the risk of serious bleeding.

Lawyers representing patients injured by Xarelto claim that J&J and Bayer failed to warn consumers they could be tested to gauge their bleed-out risk, and instead concealed their knowledge of the drug’s defects from physicians, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the public and the medical community.

WHAT IS XARELTO?

Xarelto (rivaroxaban) blocks the activity of certain clotting substances in the blood. It is used to prevent or treat a type of blood clot called deep vein thrombosis (DVT), which can lead to blood clots in the lungs (pulmonary embolism) and can occur after certain types of surgery.

People with atrial fibrillation (a heart rhythm disorder) also are prescribed this medicine to lower the risk of stroke caused by a blood clot, and there are other purposes doctors can prescribe it.

Bleeding in these kinds of conditions may put patients at risk of serious side effects including possible death, depending on the nature of the bleeding. Patients reportedly don’t have to use the drug for long to suffer a side effect.

The manufacturers advertised Xarelto as “safe and effective” for patients seeking to prevent clots without raising unwarranted risks.

The companies say millions of users have taken the drug without suffering bleeding side effects. Xarelto is a multibillion-dollar product sold by Bayer AG overseas and by Johnson & Johnson in the United States.

MAJOR RISKS WHILE TAKING XARELTO

There are major side effects associated with taking this medicine and if any of the following occur while taking rivaroxaban, check with your doctor immediately:

XARELTO LAWSUIT UPDATE:

Thousands of Xarelto cases were filed in federal courts around the nation and have been consolidated in the U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Louisiana, while other suits are in state courts.

Many claims are related to gastrointestinal bleeding, cerebral hemorrhage, strokes, and other internal bleeding while on treatment with Xarelto.

Greg Jones Lawhas successfully defended clients against major drug manufacturers. We have the means and the experience to represent clients throughout the United States in pharmaceutical litigation. To find out if you have a case against the makers of this medication call us today for a free case evaluation. Call 855-566-3752 or contact us online.

Contact us now

Free Consultation

Personal Injury

Practice Areas

Learn More

Related posts:

No related posts.

If you are looking for the best personal injury attorney’s then our combination of experience and success will be a strong testimony of our firm. As a national personal injury law firm we have had many successful experiences with cases just like yours.